Elements of Theatricality in Compositions for String Quartet by Russian Composers of the Last Third of the XX–Beginning of the XXI Centuries (on the example of the works of S.M. Slonimsky, S.A. Gubaidulina, V.A. Ekimovsky and A.K. Vustin)

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Natalia L. Sokolvyak

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problem of using elements of theatricality in the classical genre of instrumental music – string quartet, which during the last third of the XX–beginning of the
XXI centuries became for many Russian composers a field for testing the latest means of expression and the implementation of the unique artistic concepts. On the example of such works as “Antiphones” by S. Slonimsky, The First and The Fourth quartets by S. Gubaidulina, “The Birth of a Play”
by A. Vustin and “Swan Song” by V. Ekimovsky, elements of theatricality revealed and the individual features of their implementation are determined.
It is noted that the constant moving of the performers around the stage and hall in S. Slonimsky’s “Antiphones” serves to achieve a specific acoustic effect, and the movement of the ensemble members in opposite directions in The First Quartet by S. Gubaidulina contributes to the implementation of the author’s idea of going from unity to destruction. A unique example of the presence of the original complex elements of theatricality is The Fourth Quartet by S. Gubaidulina, where the traditional sound of the ensemble is combined with audio and light row and represents an instrumental theatrical action with a “multi-layered” storyline.
Theatricality of plays for string quartet “The Birth of a Play” by A. Vustin and “Swan Song”
by V. Ekimovsky lies in the presence of a plot-and-program beginning. To element it, the composers use both a verbal component – the singing of the performers simultaneously with playing instruments, and extra – musical means in the form of dropping the played pages from the console to the floor
by the musicians.
At the end the author comes to the conclusion that the use elements of theatricality in the compositions for the string quartet of Russian composers of the last third of the XX–beginning
of the XXI centuries is complex and it is carried out under the conditions of the absolute prerogative of the musical principle; it enriches the scope of the means of instrumental expressiveness of the classical bow ensemble and testifies to the openness of the genre to the individual author’s concepts.


Keywords: string quartet, instrumental theatre, elements of theatricality, modern Russian music.

Article Details

How to Cite
Sokolvyak Н. Л. (2023). Elements of Theatricality in Compositions for String Quartet by Russian Composers of the Last Third of the XX–Beginning of the XXI Centuries (on the example of the works of S.M. Slonimsky, S.A. Gubaidulina, V.A. Ekimovsky and A.K. Vustin). Music Scholarship / Problemy Muzykal’noj Nauki, 53(4), 24–32. Retrieved from https://musicscholar.ru/index.php/PMN/article/view/1476
Section
Music of the XX–XXI Centuries
Author Biography

Natalia L. Sokolvyak, Magnitogorsk State M.I. Glinka Conservatory (Academy), Magnitogorsk, Russia

PhD (Arts), Professor at the Orchestral String Instruments Department, Rector